Good News to Plan for the Golden Years
Since 2000, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) has been keeping track of senior home values and trends in senior home equity. NRMLA’s recently released RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index, a quarterly measure of key benchmarks and figures, revealed housing wealth for home owners age 62 and older was up in Q1 2026 to a record $14.92 trillion.
Senior home values (an estimated $314.8 billion) were up 1.8%, even as senior-held mortgage debt had a slight uptick of 0.4%, ending Q1 2026 at $10.5 billion. RiskSpan noted that the increase in senior home values was due in part to mortgage rates reaching the lowest levels seen in nearly four years, since the busy 2022 housing market.
Steve Irwin, President of NRMLA called the report “encouraging news for older homeowners,” adding that it “underscores the important role equity continues to play in retirement security” because the record equity for senior homes can help “many older Americans have greater financial flexibility to help address rising living expenses, healthcare costs, or other retirement needs.”
In fact, the historic high for senior home values is a welcomed factor for seniors planning for retirement or simply planning their next move. As a designated Senior Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) with the National Association of REALTORS® and a certified Senior Specialist with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, planning for the “Golden Years” is one of the many services I offer senior clients. Together, we can examine the current landscape of the marketplace—using the latest data like NRMLA’s Q1 2026 Index—to determine how to align your real estate and lifestyle goals with your current and future needs.
If you’d like to set up a complimentary real estate consultation, please reach out. We’ve done everything from estate sales to relocation to finding the perfect community to call home for our senior clients. There is no one right answer for your future but there is one way we can ensure it looks just as you’d like … together!
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Andrew Manning • REALTOR® • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties • DRE: 00941825 • 818-380-2147 • andrew@andrewmanning.com